My friend, Alfred Cyr, told me that the elders told him, "If you don't know how to pray, walk. Then you'll learn how to pray."

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Day One Hundred Eighty Three: Treaty Walking with Chris Hadfield

Yesterday we brought Canadian astronaut, mini-Chris Hadfield into the heart of Treaty Four, Fort Qu'Appelle. He toured the school a little and then spent the night on our kitchen island.

This morning we start off through the front door for Day One Hundred Eighty Three of Two Hundred Treaty Walks. I show Chris the view from the top of our coulee. Give him the tour of some local flowers, trees, grasses, and just as we are about to leave the treeline, I hear, "Sheena." I startle, laugh, as Chris and I stop for Angie catch up.

"What do you have there?" she says.

I introduce her to mini-Chris and snap a few pictures, being sure to get one of Chris on the ski hill with Angie, since it's her ski-hill.

I'm really excited to show Chris the arbour and of course the world's largest inhabited tipi at the Governance Centre. Chris smiles and takes it all in being a real good sport as we stop for lots of photos. I let Angie go on ahead, and Chris and I cut through the powwow grounds. Chris stands on the road and I get a couple good shots of him in front of the Governance Centre. He looks as happy as if he were standing on the moon.

I'm itching to ask Chris what he thinks about treaty, as a Canadian and as a member of an international space team. I imagine that he'd have some pretty cool perspectives on the importance of treaty relationships, but he's pretty quiet as we treaty walk along. Maybe he's just taking it all in. Considering what it means to be walking in this beautiful treaty four valley. So, I don't out and out ask him, "What does it mean to you to be a treaty person?" I'll save that question for another day. For right now, I'm going to follow Chris' lead, to smile and listen as I continue walking.